SEYMCHAN METEORITE – ABSTRACT MODERN ART FROM OUTER SPACE
Pallasite - PAL
Magadan District, Siberia

In the 1960s two large metallic masses were found in a Siberian streambed not from one of Stalin’s gulags. Identified as meteorites, they were named Seymchan after the nearby town and classified as part of the rare IIE subgroup. Subsequently, they were later reclassified as part of an ungrouped category more rare still. A recent expedition to the area resulted in the discovery of hundreds of additional kilograms of Seymchan contained in numerous specimens—from which this uniquely shaped offering originates.

Most Seymchan iron meteorites are shapeless, non-aesthetic lumps of nickel-iron, less attractive as a whole, but tailor made for subdivision into slices to feature the meteorite’s internal crystalline structure. That’s hardly the case here. With a broad convex surface area and a gleaming patina, the custom molded pedestal accompanying this specimen grips this natural sculpture whose shape is largely the result of having been immersed in a stream of running water for generations.

On the reverse, a window was cut parallel to the curved surface of the mass to provide a reveal of the octahedral crystalline structure of this meteorite, a pattern that is diagnostic in the identification of a meteorite, and which facilitates the differentiation of iron meteorites from one another—and this is clearly a Seymchan. The lattice-like pattern is accented by a bolt of silicates arcing through the crystalline matrix. With a Macovich Collection provenance, this is a unique, highly aesthetic sculptural example of an iron meteorite.

269 x 281 x 129mm (10.5 x 11 x 5 inches) and 11.7 kilograms (26 pounds)

$11,000